In the morning we prayed about the importance of treating African countries justly: we considered the influence of debt, and money movement out of Africa, exploitation (especially of raw materials), the effect of land grabs by non-African countries on the food supply of the continent, and, finally, the importance of overcoming malaria and the significance of this for future population growth.

We heard about the work of Hands of Compassion and the Kenyan Children's Project, both aiming to improve the future for youngsters.

We considered the effects of Climate Change in Africa, and hear about a visit to the Rochester Link Diocese links in Tanzania.

The afternoon tended to concentrate on different countries where we have links, such as Nicola Pinn with Wycliffe Bible translators in Mali, or which have recently been in the news.

We heard from Donald Werner, who works in Burundi; from Build Africa - a charity based in Tunbridge Wells and working in Kenya and Uganda; about Mission Aviation Fellowship's work in South Sudan, and Christian Aid's work in Sierra Leone.

We considered the appalling violent past of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and prayed for justice and a peaceful future; other topics included the current drought in both East and West Africa, and the sad plight of Street Children who are present, often in very large numbers in all African countries. We were able to hear from a local contact of one charity, Ubaka U Rwanda, trying to improve the lives of some of these children.

Each year we try to involve local people who have connections with charities working in Africa. We are always interested to hear from people whose work we don't yet know about - so if you have any contacts, please ask them to get in touch.